1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a rotary printing machine of a type using a stencil and, more particularly, to a winding apparatus in the printing machine for removing a used stencil attached on a printing drum assembly of the printing machine, such as a rotary mimeographic printing machine.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conventionally, there have been known apparatuses used for the printing machine which are capable of removing a used stencil automatically without using operator's hands.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,134,338, there is proposed an apparatus, as is shown schematically in FIG. 4, in which a used stencil 1 separated from a printing drum assembly is inserted in a gap between two gears 2, 3 meshed with each other, and the stencil crumpled by two gears 2, 3 is then thrown into a waste box 4. This apparatus, however, has some disadvantages in that the number of the used stencil in the apparatus can throw into the waste box 4 is limited to a relatively small number, since the used stencil thrown into the waste box 4 as crumpled by the gears 2 and 3 is rather bulky. Furthermore, when an operator wishes to detach said box from the printing machine in order to dispose the used stencils contained therein, some of the used stencils are forced out from a take-in aperture and cause staining the hands or clothes of the operator.
On the contrary to the above, there is proposed in the Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 95185/1984 an apparatus which is provided, as shown in FIG. 5(a), with a pair of generally fork-like winding arms 7 oppositely disposed on respective sides of a used stencil 6 having a leading end reinforced with a cardboard strip 5. When the used stencil 6 is to be removed, the pair of winding arms 7 are forwarded so as to receive both sides of the cardboard strip 5 of the used stencil into the fork-like portions 7a as indicated by the arrows Ar1 in FIG. 5(a) and, are then, rotated about their longitudinal axis, as indicated by an arrow Ar2, to wind the rest portion of the used stencil into a roll-like form. After that, the used stencil having been wound is dropped into a waste box 8 as shown in FIG. 5(b).
Although the apparatus of this type has an advantage in that the number of the used stencils being accommodated in the box 8 is increased, it has some disadvantages that it requires the use of a specially designed stencil as mentioned above and in that the apparatus tends to be rather complicated since it needs a special mechanism for moving and rotating the pair of the winding arms.